Roxanne in Paris
by Anrheithwyr
Summary: Autumn in Paris was better than Roxanne could have ever imagined; they were having a cool, brisk October chill that was currently blanketing the city, making Roxanne glad that she had thought to bring longer sleeved shirts along with her.


Autumn in Paris was better than Roxanne could have ever imagined; they were having a cool, brisk October chill that was currently blanketing the city, making Roxanne glad that she had thought to bring longer sleeved shirts along with her.

The thirty year old had just left a fancy restaurant with her cousin, Dominique and her family, where they had enjoyed beignets drizzled in warm honey, the heated dough nearly burning the tip of Roxanne's mouth as she ate.

After nearly two hours of good food, nice wine, and enjoyable company, the family of four, with Roxanne tagging along, were making their way down the streets of Paris, headed towards what Dominique called the _Reseaux Express Regionale_, which Dominique explained was one of the subways that ran through Paris.

Dominique and her husband were interesting people, the sort of people who were just as likely to recite things like _Trellis _as they were to listen to _Your Song_, that dumb old Elton John song that was constantly playing in their home every time that Roxanne came down into the kitchen.

Paris was also an interesting place full of interesting people, who seemed friendly and happy, always smiling at Roxanne when she walked by, though Ciel and Dominique had told Roxanne to be careful about the ones who were _too _happy.

"They'll rob you blind and leave you still grinning like a drunkard," Dominique had explained, an image that seemed to stand in stark contrast to the beautiful autumn Paris that Roxanne had seen so far. There was no way that a place as beautiful as this could have a darker side, Paris was perfect.

Dominique's two little girls, the eleven year old Lisette and the almost five year old Noella, were giggling and chasing each other around, running to the edge of the pavement, nearly running into the road but never quite crossing into the dangerous street.

They were chattering in quick French, pointing out buildings to Roxanne with excitement in their voices, though she could not understand a word the two girls were saying; Dominique said that she had been teaching her daughters English as well, but they knew very little English and Roxanne knew barely any French, and so far, her trip had been full of confusion and slight misunderstandings between Roxanne and the French-speaking Alarie family.

"_Avez-vous apprécié votre repas, Roxanne?_ _Était-ce bon? Vous avez aimé toute la nourriture? Maman aime ce lieu, nous allons tout le temps!"_ Lisette chattered, and Roxanne gave her cousin Dominique a confused look, understanding only her name and the word "Maman".

"She's asking if you liked the food, is all," Dominique explained with a smile, and Roxanne nodded, causing the young girl to smile. According to Dominique, Lisette had been looking forward to Roxanne's visit for months and had practically screamed with glee when Dominique and Ciel had come to collect her from Beauxbatons for the weekend.

"The food was _amazing_," Roxanne said and she heard Dominique translating her response to Lisette, who grinned once more, moving forward to grab Roxanne's hand and squeeze it tightly, and began to sing some little lullaby in French as they walked.

"_Fixez votre collier, Lisette, il commence à faire froid,_" Dominique told her daughter, who sighed, but momentarily released Roxanne's hand to adjust the collar of her jumper, lifting it up so that it covered her neck and the lower half of her face. "I'd recommend you pop your collar as well, Roxanne. The night is getting colder the closer to the _Reseaux _that we get."

"Alright," Roxanne said, doing as Dominique had recommended as they continued to walk, glad she did so when another strong, cold breeze brushed past them, nearly sending the already wobbly Noella toppling into the brick wall of a nearby store.

A grumpy little old woman shoved past Roxanne, shouting out something that Roxanne didn't understand and gesturing rudely; Roxanne could only gape at the woman, who was old enough to be Roxanne's grandmother.

She hadn't expected to see such people here, in a place like Paris, but then again, she _had _been spending much of her vacation learning that what one _expected _in Paris was not necessarily what one always got.

Over the past two days of her visit, there had been a number things that Roxanne had learned about Paris that was totally different from home; here, people stopped to chat like they had nowhere to go, yet always seemed to be talking about how little time there was to get anywhere.

The people seemed to be friendlier as well, more open and willing to have a cheerful discussion with total strangers, though Dominique had warned Roxanne that she oughtn't be _too _trustful, as people were even more likely to cheat tourists when they knew they could get away with it.

Paris and the parts of suburban France that Roxanne had seen so far seemed like something out of a catalogue, with people who walked by wearing what Roxanne had previously considered to be strictly _Sunday best_, though the fancily dressed Parisians she had seen so far didn't seem to be going anywhere in particular that warranted such stylish clothing.

That was why threw her slightly off to see teenagers skulking by wearing jeans and holey jumpers, scowling at everyone who passed them, cigarettes burning between their fingers.

Roxanne hadn't expected to see something like that in such a beautiful city as Paris, but she was quickly learning that the Paris of the movies and her imagination was not entirely the most _correct _image of the city she was slowly falling in love with.

It had been a weird holiday so far, as Roxanne was introduced to some of the most beautiful things in the world that she had ever seen, but also had had her eyes opened to the fact that Paris, like anywhere else in the world, was simply just an imperfect place with imperfect people populating it.

Dominique had been showing her both the good and the bad of Paris, the interesting and the downright amazing, the confusing and the shocking. Roxanne had taken it all in, fascinated by this way of life that Dominique lived, where beautiful people walked by cussing grandmothers.

"Roxanne, come on, hurry up before we miss the train! We haven't got all night, you know, you silly goose," Dominique called, snapping Roxanne from her reverie, and the thirty year old looked up to see her cousin and the others a few metres away, watching her with interest.

"Sill-ee goose, sill-ee goose!" Noella repeated, giggling as Roxanne hurried to catch up, leaving the still cussing grandmother behind.

"Hey, tomorrow can we see the Eiffel Tower? I have a postcard, but I've never been to the top," Roxanne asked Dominique, who laughed lightly, quietly saying something about _tourists_ before grabbing Roxanne's wrist, pulling her towards the _Reseaux_.

"Tomorrow, my little English cousin, tomorrow. Tonight, we have a nice, warm bed to sleep in, so let's hurry before we miss our train, alright?" Dominique asked, and they ran, the five of them, laughing and grinning like maniacs.

Paris, Roxanne decided then, was the most beautiful place in the world, especially during autumn.


End file.
